The Bruche

Offen predictable, sometimes surprising, that's my river, that I generally court, which sometimes fills me with joy, sometimes afflicts me, but, always enchants me !

to the news of the month

Une vue du parcours no kill de Schirmeck.

Taking its source at an altittude of 680 meters, on the top of the Climont, in the granitics Vosges, the Bruche runs during 78 km to its confluence with the river Ill, just before Strasbourg. Up to Dinsheim, it is classified in 1st category (salmonidae dominant). Rich in watery insects (baetis, rithrogena, ephemerella ignita, caddis..) it presents a succession of flats and currents, typical of the piedmont plains.

It is well populated with brown trouts, to wich are added white fish (chubs, daces, spirlin, bleaks, gudgeons..). From Heiligenberg, the graylings are well established and it contains some rainbow trouts. The trouts are not enormous there; a fish of 30 cm is a beautiful specimen (my personal record with the fly is 45 cm there), but they are wild, and defend themselves with vivacity and malignancy. The graylings commonly reach 30 cm and some specimens of more than 40 cm were already caught.

There are a lot of associations on the Bruche and it's not always easy to get a fishing licence. But since 1997, the fishing association "haute Bruche" has created a "fly fishing course" in Schirmeck. On this place, where the fishing is no-kill way, from the 1st may to the 31st august you get sometimes the chance to catch brown trouts of more than a kilogram. In 2003, a new fly fishing course has opened in Muhlbach on Bruche !

Where you can get fishing cards :

-by fishing store "FARIO" :........ 34, grand rue,............67120 DORLISHEIM ......... tel: 0033 3 88 48 86 66 , . for the sectors of Muhlbach, Mutzig and Molsheim.

-by fishing store "BRUCHE- NATURE": 13, route de Strasbourg ,.. 67130 SCHIRMECK ... tel: 0033 3 88 97 89 45 , .. for the fly-fishing course from Schirmeck.

the Bruche: news of the month

May 2012

News: At time, the insects were not numerous up the water. We hope it will be better in may. And in this month, we have the opening of fishing the graylings, may the 19 th.

My last flyfishing session: 2012 april the 4, I was on the Bruche in Wiches. The wheather was with grey clouds and some little rain showers, with a air temperature of 12°. So, I was beginning with nymph, a CBF as indicator. A nice brown trout took this dry fly (cf. picture n°3) howhewer the west wind seemed good, I had to wait till 15h30 to see the first ephemeridae. Than, 40 minutes during, some Heptageneidae and Baetis Rhodani came out of the water, time enough for some wild trouts to rise discretly. I was quickly fishing wis dry flies, and could catch 5 wild trouts , with EBL (3 brownies), EBF-1 and MBE. At 16h15, it was already finished. These brown trouts, between 26 et 24 cm, I could catch with dry flies, gave me a funny entertainment for this typical day of spring.

Special event this month:

- I prepared for this spring a new selection for the season. With these flies you will have good models to fish the trouts in the rivers.

There are of course other interesting rivers for flyfishing in Alsace, like the Moder, the Eichel, the Sauer, the Giessen, or the Andlau in the Bas-Rhin, the Fecht, the Doller, the Ill, the Lauch or the Thur in the Haut-Rhin. But the Bruche is certainly one of the most beautiful.